Hi, I'm Nellwyn!

Aug 29 Bitten Lips

I was recently introduced to a new fall trend when this video came up on my Facebook feed:

Fall's latest lip trend is BITTEN.

To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this look.

At first I didn't like it. I thought it was weird to want to look like you've been chewing on the insides of your lips all day. I associate the bitten and slightly bloody effect of this look with the pain of cutting into your lips and the anxiety that often spurs habits like lip bitting and nail chewing. I don't like the idea of associating beauty with blood.

Then I thought maybe I was being a bit too critical and should get off of my feminist high-horse. Not everything needs to be taken so seriously, and not everything we do with our bodies is a political statement. Don't you dare try and take away my push-up bra. I know it's associated with male-centric signs of fertility, but I don't care. I like how it looks.

I'm sure the people embracing the bitten lip trend feel the same way. They probably like how it looks and don't want to be torn down by over-analysis and unnecessary criticism. After all, makeup is all about personal expression and far be it for me to tell another woman how she should or should not express herself.

And the more I look at pictures of this beauty trend, the more I start to like it. It's starting to look less bloody and more like just another manifestation of the ombre trend that's still sweeping the beauty industry.

After all, no one is really bleeding for the sake of this look.

What do you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this trend. I think it's hard to know when to think critically about the social connotations of popular beauty trends and when to relax and enjoy the fun of self-expression.